Gem of the Week: “Smiling Faces Sometimes”-The Undisputed Truth

Long before mixtapes were a thing, Motown record producer Norman Whitfield was DJ’ing his own trip-funk soundtrack; getting his name out via his own collective of hippie soul singers on a succinct portfolio of R&B jams, entitled The Undisputed Truth.

It was the handcrafted group’s breakout release: an 11-track-deep LP that could craftily lure the orthodox Smokey Robinson radio fan down a rabbit hole of deep-soul psychedelia, chittering snares, and purring bass riffs.

Amid two funkified covers (“Like a Rolling Stone”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”), deep-groove syncopated cuts (“California Soul”, “That’s What The World is Today”), and enough slow jam interludes (“We’ve Got A Way Out of Love”), side 2 houses the smoothest track, [and Top-40 hit], “Smiling Faces Sometimes”.

A snooty strings-and-bass overture, some bongos, and a couple side-eyed “Can You Dig It?”s ease you into the jazzy track’s deep-seated voodoo. Contrary to the standard scowl, lead singer Joe Harris warns of the opposite facial expression: (“Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend; Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within…”). With each of his smoky-toned belts, the rhythm guitar flickers and the bass goes wild.